P700 Snow blower, Front spring upgrade?

[trendsetter77]

Hi everyone. I have a 2021 pioneer 700-4 and have also purchased a 72" Bercomac snow blower for the winter. The blower is quite heavy (700Lbs). my question is, should i upgrade the front springs or springs and shocks or not at all? If so, what do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Admin]

 

[DG Rider]

Hi everyone. I have a 2021 pioneer 700-4 and have also purchased a 72" Bercomac snow blower for the winter. The blower is quite heavy (700Lbs). my question is, should i upgrade the front springs or springs and shocks or not at all? If so, what do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

Well...the front on the 700 is too soft anyway (IMO), so unless you like driving with the machine on the bump stops, I'd say yes. I just don't know how. Some aftermarket shocks have preload...but I don't know if it's enough to cover that much.
But...does ALL the weight rest on the machine?

 

[trendsetter77]

Well...the front on the 700 is too soft anyway (IMO), so unless you like driving with the machine on the bump stops, I'd say yes. I just don't know how. Some aftermarket shocks have preload...but I don't know if it's enough to cover that much.
But...does ALL the weight rest on the machine?

no, the blower has wheels to support it. it would only be off the ground for tight turns i would imagine. I havent used it yet so im not to sure

 

[bumperm]

From the pictures, as DG Rider suggested, it looks like the weight of the machine is borne mostly by the machine itself. The subframe goes all the way back to the rear hitch of the UTV and attaches there as well. So it's not like all that weight is on the front end of your Honda. Since the specs are a little sparse on the details, and I didn't download the manual to see what it says, best advice would be to call the manufacturer and check with them.

 

[WagginTail]

I say hook it up and try it. If it weighs down the front of your 700 too much then the cheapest solution might be some spring spacers. I installed them on my 700-4 and it stiffened the springs and they quit bottoming out on bumps. $20 and an hour of your time to put them on.

I know people change out the springs on the fox shocks all the time. Idk if anyone knows the stock spring rate for a 700 so idk which springs you could try.

 

[bumperm]

I say hook it up and try it. If it weighs down the front of your 700 too much then the cheapest solution might be some spring spacers. I installed them on my 700-4 and it stiffened the springs and they quit bottoming out on bumps. $20 and an hour of your time to put them on.

I know people change out the springs on the fox shocks all the time. Idk if anyone knows the stock spring rate for a 700 so idk which springs you could try.

Don't know about you, but I'd be a little reluctant to spend $8,000 on a snow blower, so I can hook it up to try it, without first doing my homework. Which is what the OP looked to be doing here. I checked out the Bercomac website, a bit sparse on the the info (I didn't download the instruction manual). I'd call them.

 

[WagginTail]

Don't know about you, but I'd be a little reluctant to spend $8,000 on a snow blower, so I can hook it up to try it, without first doing my homework. Which is what the OP looked to be doing here. I checked out the Bercomac website, a bit sparse on the the info (I didn't download the instruction manual). I'd call them.

Guess I'm just tight and have a lot of faith in the 700. 😉

 

[trendsetter77]

I say hook it up and try it. If it weighs down the front of your 700 too much then the cheapest solution might be some spring spacers. I installed them on my 700-4 and it stiffened the springs and they quit bottoming out on bumps. $20 and an hour of your time to put them on.

I know people change out the springs on the fox shocks all the time. Idk if anyone knows the stock spring rate for a 700 so idk which springs you could try.

Where did you get the spring spacers?

 

[trendsetter77]

Don't know about you, but I'd be a little reluctant to spend $8,000 on a snow blower, so I can hook it up to try it, without first doing my homework. Which is what the OP looked to be doing here. I checked out the Bercomac website, a bit sparse on the the info (I didn't download the instruction manual). I'd call them.

Its a snow blower meant for a UTV so to be honest i didn't even think about the weight issue until a friend asked if it would be a problem. A lot of people use them where i am and i got a fantastic deal on it because it is used (15 hours) so if it doesn't work for me, ill sell it for more then i paid or put it on my truck.

 

[WagginTail]

Where did you get the spring spacers?

Amazon. Or you can get some steel pipe to make your own for cheaper. 1" spring spacer gives roughly a 2" lift. So if the blower does weigh it down then hopefully with the spacer it would be back closer to normal height.

 

[WagginTail]

MOTOKU 2" Front Rear Suspension Lift Spacer kit for Foreman 400 450 500 Recon 250 Rancher 300 350 400 420 Rubicon 500 Pioneer 700 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DCRXXQL/?tag=sxsweb24-20

 

[Farmer]

To me...the 700 isn't worth spending thousands for suspension just to blow snow. Even if you do some serious trail riding it's hard to justify unless you know.......you're a guy who likes to blow money on stuff like the rest of us LOL!!!.

 

[bumperm]

Its a snow blower meant for a UTV so to be honest i didn't even think about the weight issue until a friend asked if it would be a problem. A lot of people use them where i am and i got a fantastic deal on it because it is used (15 hours) so if it doesn't work for me, ill sell it for more then i paid or put it on my truck.

Oh, sorry . . . I didn't know you'd already bought it. From your question, I thought you were considering it and gathering more info. My initial response was based on my erroneous assumption.

 

[WagginTail]

Maybe @David-1964 has some knowledge on this topic. How much does that front loader weigh?

 

[trendsetter77]

Just thought i would let everyone know that i went ahead and attached the snow blower today to get a feel for how heavy it would be on the machine. It turns out that a majority of the weight is actually on the wheels of the blower. It pivots on the wheels and is actually quite easy on the UTV suspension. I did go ahead and order some 2" spring spacers just so i can get a little more clearance. But i think that even if i didn't, it would be just fine. Hope this helps people in the future. Thanks for all of the replies. Here are a few pictures.

 

[WagginTail]

Awesome. Now just ready to see some snow flying

 

[Thorney]

All I can say is WOW! That is a major snow throwing machine! 👏

 

[WagginTail]

Just thought i would let everyone know that i went ahead and attached the snow blower today to get a feel for how heavy it would be on the machine. It turns out that a majority of the weight is actually on the wheels of the blower. It pivots on the wheels and is actually quite easy on the UTV suspension. I did go ahead and order some 2" spring spacers just so i can get a little more clearance. But i think that even if i didn't, it would be just fine. Hope this helps people in the future. Thanks for all of the replies. Here are a few pictures.
View attachment 293749View attachment 293750View attachment 293751View attachment 293752View attachment 293753

Well how has it been doing?

 

[Glock21user]

Well how has it been doing?

Yes we are all curious

 

[trendsetter77]

Well how has it been doing?

Yes we are all curious

sorry for the really late reply. The machine handles the snow blower with no problems what so ever. I live where there is quite a bit of snow. Probably about 15 feet in total this year. I did end up putting in the 2" spring spacers in the front but left the rear factory and dialed all the way up. Probably dont need to add anything though. If you're thinking about getting the Berco 72" blower, the 700 has no problems pushing it around.